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Special Session 5: Ocean-atmosphere interaction, multi-scale climate variability and their implication for biogeochemical processes |
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Molecular chemistry of brown carbon aerosol
Wednesday 11th @ 1525-1545
Room 1
Peng Lin* , Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Sergey Nizkorodov, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA.
Julia Laskin, Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Alexander Laskin, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Presenter Email: Peng.Lin@pnl.gov
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Brown carbon (BrC) aerosol is recognized as a significant contributor to light absorption and climate forcing. However, the chemical composition of BrC constituents of aerosol, their sources, formation and aging mechanisms are not well understood yet. We have developed a series of analytical methods combining the state of the art chromatography, spectroscopy and mass spectrometry technology to identify BrC chromophores and characterize their optical properties and chemical composition. This presentation will highlight selected applications of these methods for investigating the light-absorbing components in the samples of laboratory generated and field collected aerosols. The unique organic structures that determine the major light absorbing characteristics are identified for BrC from different sources. The results suggest that the molecular-level understanding of BrC chemistry is essential for better understanding the source and behavior of light absorbing aerosols in the atmosphere.
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